


An Echo Among the Ruins

by lucidscreamer



Series: 100 Yu-Gi-Oh Prompts [45]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Afterlife, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Gen, Magic, Sequel, Variations on Ancient Egyptian Religion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:15:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26940514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucidscreamer/pseuds/lucidscreamer
Summary: Yami Mutou wakes up in a place seemingly made of shadows with only his own corpse for company.Sequel to "A Death in the Desert".
Series: 100 Yu-Gi-Oh Prompts [45]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1266368
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	An Echo Among the Ruins

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. No ownership of the canon characters, settings, or events is claimed and none should be implied.
> 
> Prompts:  
> 22\. Afterworld/Afterlife (Paranormal 25)  
> 08\. Victim (Horror 50)  
> 22\. Gates to Other Realms (31 Days of Halloween)  
> 90\. "Tell me this is not the end..." (100 YGO Themes)
> 
> This is a sequel to "A Death in the Desert" and will make more sense if you read that first.

Yami Mutou awoke to darkness.

He lay on something hard and frigid. The cold seeped up into his bones from the surface, making his body stiff and unresponsive. His eyelids were leaden, but he forced them open and gazed in confusion at the... sky?.. above him. His thoughts were sluggish but even so, he recognized that this was not the tomb of Anubis.

Instead of a rough stone ceiling, towering dark clouds met his puzzled gaze. Fighting the strange lethargy that had overtaken him, Yami slowly sat up and looked around. The clouds moved in a ponderous roiling mass, great swirls of black, purple, gray stretching in every direction as far as his eyes could see. Even the ground appeared to be made of sky, a featureless plane of infinite darkness sparked with faint points of light like stars. A few of the stars were red, like scattered embers. As he stared at them, some of the "embers" blinked as if they were pairs of eyes observing him from afar.

Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet. The thought of being watched made him shudder, which brought his attention back to his body. As the memory of his last moments in the tomb rushed back to him, Yami's hand flew to the center of his chest, searching for the gaping wound he knew he must find there. But his questing fingers met only unmarked skin.

Skin? Startled, he looked down at himself, for the first time noticing that he was naked as the day he was born. And, as if he had just come into the world, his body bore no signs of the scars he had incurred over the course of his thirty years of living. He glanced around again, trying to find something with which to cover himself. There was nothing but darkness and those distant points of light. Something unseen howled like a creature in torment and then the strange red eyes blinked out, two by two.

Yami shivered. Had Noa killed him after all? Was this the afterlife?

As if responding to Yami's thoughts, the transparent "ground" shifted, growing opaque as it rose beneath him. He lost his balance and tumbled to the ground. By the time he regained his equilibrium -- and his feet -- the flat plain was gone. In its place a mound had formed and, around it, the ruins of what looked like an ancient Egyptian temple. Great, fallen columns lay in the near distance. The remaining standing columns held the remains of a stone roof that partially blocked his view of the still swirling sky. Beneath his feet, painted tiles formed a floor, the pattern of which was obscured in some areas by drifting sand or fallen stones. In others, the tiles had broken or worn away and scraggly weeds poked through the cracks. When Yami examined the nearest of the columns, he discovered that the sandstone bore dense carvings that somewhat resembled ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, though these were of a variant he had never before seen and could not read.

The wind insinuated itself between the columns, making the weeds whisper and wafting the long skirts of his robe against his legs. 

Yami froze, taking in the sensation of soft fabric brushing against his body, then looked down at himself in confusion. Although he had been completely naked only seconds before, he was now clothed in a loose white robe of fine, pleated linen. The robe had a keyhole neck opening, the sides of which were embroidered with brightly colored threads and small gold rosettes. It was belted at the waist by a wide woven belt, the ends of which were heavy with more golden ornaments. Bracelets made of gold and inset with semi-precious stones -- lapis lazuli, carnelian, and a green stone that might be malachite -- clasped both his wrists. His feet were no longer bare, but set in leather sandals with golden caps on the curled toes.

Deciding not to look gift clothing in the mouth (so to speak), Yami walked carefully through the ruined temple. He stared in awe at the towering columns which reminded him of the Great Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Amun at Karnak. Unlike that well known monument, this temple's columns still bore their paint bringing the deeply carved hieroglyphs and papyriform finials to vibrant life. His footsteps echoed in the hush, the only sound other than the susurration of the wind through the ruins. 

After walking for an eternity encapsulated in a moment, he came upon a raised dais upon which rested a gilded wooden bier draped with linen. Yami hesitated at the base of the broad stone steps leading up to the bier. Something told him that he would not like what awaited him at the top. His heart pounded painfully in his chest. He took a deep breath and forced himself to place his foot firmly on the first step. The scuff of his sandals on the polished stone was the only sound as he ascended the steps and strode across the dais until he was standing beside the bier. The wind tugged at the hems of the linen draperies and of his clothing. It seemed to urge him forward, toward the familiar shape that lay beneath the shroud.

It took every ounce of willpower he possessed to force himself to take the final step forward. His breath was coming in ragged pants and his heart was pounding its way out of his chest. With a trembling hand, he reached out and tore away the cloth to reveal the still, silent shape underneath.

His breath arrested in his throat.

What lay before him was a body. And not just any body, but his body, complete with the bloody wound Noa's knife had inflicted upon him in the tomb of Anubis.

Yami stared at the body. Bright blood painted its bare chest red. No breath made that chest rise or fall, no heartbeat pumped even more blood from that disturbingly fresh wound. Although the breeze caused the linen draperies to drift weightlessly around the bier, not a hair on the body's head stirred.

"What the hell is going on here?" The sound of his own voice seemed over loud in the eerie stillness. He was not expecting an answer, so when he got one, Yami almost jumped out of his skin.

"Your true body is in stasis."

With a quickly stifled yelp, Yami spun on his heel and found that he was no longer alone on the dais. He scowled at the newcomer. "Who are you?"

The new arrival was a tall, thin man dressed in a long white robe similar to the one Yami now wore. The stranger's clothing was less elaborate, with only a fringe of white linen threads at the bottom hem and a plain cloth belt cinching it at the waist. His bracelets were made of copper and turquoise and he worse a large golden pendant that hung from a braided leather cord around his neck. The pendant was round with a flat triangle in the center of the open circle and five pendants dangling from the lower edge of the ring. He had close-cropped brown hair and sharp blue eyes. His feet were bare.

When he saw that he had Yami's full attention, the stranger bowed low, his hands raised, palm out, at shoulder height. It was a gesture that Yami had only ever seen in tomb paintings and temple carvings. He had no idea why the man was offering him such a gesture.

Pushing that consideration away, Yami repeated his question. "Who are you?"

The stranger straightened, and Yami saw the faint quirk of one corner of his mouth. "My name is Mahaad."

Mahaad said his name as if it should mean something to Yami, but it didn't. He frowned at the stranger. "All right, Mahaad… Perhaps you can tell me what is going on? What is this place? How did I get here?"

"This?" Mahaad spread his hands to take in the ruined temple and the swirling darkness beyond. "This is a… shadow realm. A place between places."

Well, that was as clear as mud. 

Yami shook his head, turning away to pace along the edge of the dais and trying not to look at the body on the bier. "The last thing I remember, Noa Kaiba was driving a knife through my heart. The next thing I know, I wake up in this place, naked as a newborn baby. Then this temple appears out of the shadows -- along with what is apparently my dead body -- and then you show up. Forgive me if I'm a little confused."

"Of course." Mahaad inclined his head in seeming understanding. "I can imagine that this must be very difficult for you."

"You have no idea." The veins in Yami's temples were throbbing. Absently, he rubbed his forehead with one hand. With the other, he made a vague gesture at the body on the bier. He still could not think of it as belonging to him without feeling a quiver of nausea in the pit of his stomach. "What about… that?"

"The body is yours. The one you inhabit now is merely an... echo... shaped by this place. Your true body is in a form of stasis, on the brink of death."

That was a lot to consider, especially the idea that he was... No, better to focus on the practical for now. "How did I get here?"

"The Shadows -- at my direction -- pulled your body here where the sorcerer could not feed upon your ba. Had he consumed all of your life force you would not be here... or anywhere. You would have been obliterated. When your dying body was pulled here, your soul came with it as you were still bound to flesh and blood at that point."

Hearing that, Yami raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that I'm not bound to my body, now?"

"You are not." Mahaad moved so that he could peer down at the body on the bier. "I wish I could have intervened sooner, but I was not alerted to your peril until the dark magic was invoked and the mummy had already begun to feed upon your life."

"If you brought me here and... and separated me from my... body, then you can put me back!"

"I am afraid that is beyond my power. Your body is grievously wounded and must be healed. It cannot support your life as it is. Even if I could return you to it, you would die from your wounds."

"Well, can you heal …it?" Yami asked. Referring to his body as a separate entity from himself was making him quite uncomfortable.

"With the help of some friends, yes. I believe I can," Mahaad said, after a moment's thought. "That is why I placed your body in this state of suspended time. So that it might not perish before I had the chance to heal it and return you to it."

"All right. So, if my body can be healed, why can't you return me to it once it's healed?"

"The sorcerer's mummy has taken a part of your spirit as part of the spell to bring it back to life. Your soul must be whole in order for you to reclaim your body and return to the world of the living."

"Then, I'm not… dead?"

"Oh, no. You are quite dead at the moment. However, I have high hopes that it need not be a permanent condition."

Well, that was comforting. If by comforting you meant terrifying. Yami gave his head a shake to clear it. "Why are you helping me?"

Mahaad looked at him for a long moment, before turning his gaze to the masses of purple and black shadows surrounding them. "Once, long ago, I knew another you. I called that man my king... and my friend. Had I dared, I would have called him the brother of my heart."

"Another me? I don't understand."

"It is strange," Mahaad said, in a tone that sounded like he was agreeing to something Yami wasn't sure he had said. "My people did not even believe in this thing called 'reincarnation'. And yet, here you are. I can sense your soul and it is the same as that of my king."

Sense his soul? Things just kept getting crazier and more confusing. "How is that possible?"

Mahaad seemed to understand what Yami was asking, for he gestured to the heavy pendant around his neck. "This is the Millennium Ring. With it I can read souls. At any rate, it tells me that you are the reincarnation of my Pharaoh."

"Pharaoh?!" Yami started, and then stared at the man. He swallowed hard, seeing their surroundings in a new light. "Are you saying that you are… from ancient Egypt?"

Mahaad nodded serenely. "As are you." A faint smirk curved his lips as he added, "Originally."

"I'm not--" Yami broke off as another of those tortured howls split the air. He jerked his head around, craning his neck to see the sky and trying to pin point where the terrible sound was coming from. "What the hell is making that noise?"

"The Shadows are angry." The serenity had fled from Mahaad's voice. When Yami glanced at him, the other man was on high alert, one hand lifted in a warding-off gesture, the other resting against the ring on his chest. Above them, the strange sky swirled madly, the dark colors mixing and splitting in an endless cycle. Flashes of negative lightning, purple against the black and gray miasma, lit up the temple. "You must not tarry here."

Confused, Yami stared at him, and then looked at the body resting once more beneath a linen shroud. When had that happened? "I thought you said I couldn't return to my body until it was healed -- and, correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe I'll need a body in the world of the living."

"You are not mistaken… and your body does need to be healed before you can regain the use of it. However, while you will need a body to return to the living world -- and to interact with it and those who inhabit it -- that body need not be your own. At least on a temporary basis."

Aghast, Yami blurted, "You want me to possess someone else's body?!" He would not do it! To even think such an evil thing--

But Mahaad was nodding complacently. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. It would be only temporary, until I have healed your true body and you may return to it. And, do not forget that you must also regain the parts of your soul that the sorcerer's mummy has fed upon. Your soul must be whole for you to return to life."

The reminder of what had happened to him in Anubis' tomb made Yami's stomach lurch. Briefly, it occurred to him to wonder why he felt as if he still had a living, human body when he was just a "echo" in this place. But another worry shoved that thought to the back of the lengthening queue.

"Er, how do I go about that… exactly?" 

This time, it was Mahaad who appeared confused. "How do you go about what?"

"Any of it." Yami sighed. There was simply too much for him to think clearly about any of it. "How do I get back the pieces of my… soul… that Anubis took? How do I possess a host body in the land of the living? How do I even get back there in the first place?"

"Ah. I see. Yes, I am sure those tasks must seem daunting to you, but do not worry. I will aid you as much as I can." Mahaad gave him another small bow. "For the sake of the man that you were and for the sake of the man that I sense you are and may become, you have my loyalty and my service."

Never having had anyone offer him such an oath, Yami was unsure how to respond. A part of him wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, of this impossible situation in which he had found himself, but Mahaad was so sincere that the greater part of Yami realized he could be no less himself. He found himself tilting his head slightly to acknowledge the other's vow, and said the only thing that came to his overloaded mind, "Thank you."

"My soul will serve you forever." Mahaad knelt, striking his fisted hand against his chest over his heart and raising the other in the air. It was another pose Yami recognized from the monuments, a henu, indicating praise and glorification.

Not knowing how to respond to such a profound gesture, Yami turned away, incidentally turning his back on the body on the bier. "All right. Tell me how I get out of this lovely vacation spot and back to the real world. There's a certain mummy with whom I need to have strong words."

Mahaad's laugh startled them both. Yami found himself grinning at the expression of surprise on the other man's face. Finally, Mahaad shook his head. "If I had any lingering doubts that you are my king reborn, you have dismissed them. It is good to be in your presence once more, Your Majesty."

Uncomfortable, Yami tried to pretend he had not heard the royal title, much less in conjunction with himself. "So, how do I get out of here?"

Mahaad straightened, a sober look on his face. "I would offer to guide you, but I fear it is not safe to leave your true body unattended. I must remain here in order to guard your body and to begin healing it. However--" And here he smiled again. "--I believe I know the perfect guide to lead you through the Shadow Realm."

 _Shadow Realm_? Was that what this terrible place was called? It seemed an apt name. "Where do I find this guide?"

Mahaad's smile turned smug. "Look behind you."

Uncertain of what he would find, Yami turned.


End file.
